Route 30 comment period extended

The public input period for the Route 30 reconstruction project has been extended for at least another month, as residents are invited to continue sharing feedback on the 75% design draft.

Residents had another opportunity to review the project in small groups during a June 30 Traffic and Sidewalk Committee workshop – the breakout groups were originally planned for the two May listening sessions, but were deferred to another meeting as discussions ran for two-plus hours each evening.

While there have been several opportunities in recent months to provide feedback on the Route 30 reconstruction, the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee is anticipating extending its timeline for accepting resident input due to membership turnover.

“The committee is changing so much in short order,” outgoing Chair Ann Wiedie, whose term ended July 1, said. “We’ll get the new committee learned about all this, and then take the next step.”

Alongside Wiedie, 12-year member Richard Gula is also not seeking reappointment, leaving two vacancies. Additionally, Katherine “Kit” Diver, the newest member whose first meeting was June 30, was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Select Board member Rebecca Mercuri, who resigned after being elected in May.

The Select Board has yet to appoint new members – it tabled a vote on June 23. Several residents have submitted applications, including former members Olga Aginsky and Linda Nelson, as well as Sustainability Committee member David Loutzenheiser.

Prior to the breakout groups, several residents, both for and against the project, shared feedback during public comment.

Bob Cronin, a former Traffic and Sidewalk Committee member, said the project is in danger of being derailed by opponents, who have made up the majority of residents attending previous meetings, including the overwhelmingly negative May listening sessions, even though it has received two Town Meeting approvals.

“It appears there’s a group that wants to kill the project, but I think if you kill the project, that sends a very bad message to the residents of the town because it says, ‘Why go to a Town Meeting, why vote, if the majority is going to be subverted by some disgruntled people who don’t agree?’” Cronin said. “Although there’s some issues with the project, I think instead of coming to these meetings and trying to kill it, we ought to find a solution that fits Weston.”

Dave Robbins, a South Avenue resident, said he has “very mixed feelings” about the project, as it could be a great connector, but having to work within the state’s guidelines has created a design that might not be the best fit for Weston. He noted that the shared-use path might not be a place that would draw walkers anyway, “not because it won’t be safe, but because there are so many cars it’s not a pleasant experience.”

“The town is taking a compromise in order to make sure the state will pay for it, instead of finding the best solution for whatever problem we’re trying to solve,” Robbins said. “If it’s of value to the town, we should decide that this is something we want to do.”

The $18.5 million state-funded project is a 3.7-mile reconstruction of Route 30 from the Natick town line to the intersection of Cutters Bluff Road that will widen the driving surface, create a 10-foot shared-use path, improve pedestrian crossings, update drainage and make connections to other sidewalks and paths along the route.

The project is currently at the 75% design phase, and it’s at this stage that opposition has mounted because the previously planned sidewalk was replaced with a larger shared-use path.

The original 2018 proposal, overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting in a 563-35 vote, included a 5-foot-wide sidewalk along the entire corridor. An additional funding request was brought forward at the 2024 Annual Town Meeting because the design had been changed to include the 10-foot-wide shared-use path, or buffered bicycle lanes, as required by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s “Healthy Design Standards” to keep the project on the state- and federally funded Transportation Improvement Plan, according to language on the warrant.

That 2024 appropriation was approved by a much narrower margin, 285-203.

Although Weston residents have already appropriated nearly $1.54 million in design fees – $938,000 in 2018 and $600,000 in 2024 – it could still, as some residents requested in May, be stopped. The Traffic and Sidewalk Committee will take all of the public input and distill it into a memo that will be sent to the Select Board, which will have the final say on whether it advances to the next stage.

If the project advances, residents will likely have one final opportunity to weigh in themselves, as Weston will need to acquire land easements along the Route 30 corridor, which will require approval of funding from Town Meeting.

As the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee’s new members orient themselves with the project, residents are encouraged to attend meetings or provide written feedback by emailing [email protected].

“We have a lot of work,” member Richard Flynn said. “Write an email, get your thoughts down, so it will be the material we start to work through and process.”